by Sachin Murdeshwar

Mumbai : A team lead by Dr. Ravi Gupta, Cardiologist, Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai Central helped a 50-year-old Mumbai woman escape death by successfully carrying out an angioplasty on her with the help of 7 medicated stents in her arteries to improve the functioning of her heart. Stents were inserted in 3 big vessels – 2 in the left anterior descending artery (LAD), 1 in the ramus, 2 in circumflex and 2 in the right coronary artery. The patient is back on track, her chest pain has vanished, can move freely, and her heart pumping rate is normal that is 60%.

50-year-old Varna Shah (Name changed), a resident of Colaba who is a housewife, suddenly encountered severe chest pain for about half-an-hour while she was doing her household chores. Her family immediately rushed her to a nearby hospital in an emergency where she suffered from a cardiac arrest (It happens when the heart suddenly stops pumping blood around the body). The woman was close to death, as she had no heart rate and respiration and her ejection fraction (heart pumping) reduced to 45% that is associated with heart failure. She was revived with Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), a life-saving technique used in medical emergencies such as heart attack or cardiac arrest for 20 minutes, cardiac massage, was intubated, and then transferred to Wockhardt Hospital wherein she underwent an emergency angioplasty.

Dr. Ravi Gupta, Cardiologist, Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai Central, said, “The patient was shifted to the hospital on a ventilator. Her angiography revealed that the patient suffered from a serious triple vessel disease. This suggests that the 3 big vessels namely (the left anterior descending, right coronary and circumflex arteries) have blockages from atherosclerotic plaques, and the left ventricle also has reduced contractile function.  Her all 3 arteries were 95% blocked.

In such a situation, coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) was the only option. “But the patient’s condition was poor, and she wouldn’t have sustained up to the time of bypass. Thus, the patient was scheduled to undergo an immediate angioplasty. It is the procedure to restore blood flow through the artery.  The patient was operated for all complex lesions in one go with 7 medicated stents. 2 in the left anterior descending artery (LAD),1 in the ramus, 2 in circumflex and 2 in the right coronary artery. In between this critical procedure to she suffered from cardiac arrest for which she was given a 3 minutes CPR, and later the procedure was successfully completed after two-and-half hours. The patient was discharged on the 5^th day after the surgery. Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) can not only save lives in the hospital but outside it as well. It is the need of the hour to learn this life-saving technique.”explained Dr. Gupta.

The patient visited the doctor for follow-ups and is completely fine now. “Her ECG is normal, and her chest pain has vanished, and her ejection fraction rate is 60% (normal range). The patient has been advised to exercise, adhere to a healthy diet, and take medications on time.”

“I was doing household chores when suddenly I encountered chest pain. My family was quick in recognizing the symptoms of the heart problem and admitted me to a nearby hospital. After stabilizing me, I was taken to Wockhardt Hospital, and the doctors saved my life after performing a timely angioplasty. Now, the functioning of my heart has significantly improved and have resumed my daily routine. I am happy to have got a second lease of life,” concluded the patient Ms. Varna Shah.